DOCSLIB.ORG

Melita Vol 17-1 Summer 2009.Pub

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Melita Vol 17-1 Summer 2009.Pub 10 The Melita 3d. Postage Inverted: Politics Embroil Philately By Dr. Albert Ganado This article appeared in Melita Historica , 14(2007)4(409-428) and is reproduced with their permission—Editor One of the most well-known varieties of Malta stamps is the 3d. ‘POSTAGE’ Melita stamp with inverted overprint issued in 1926. Not so well known, perhaps, is the story behind it. Was it a forgery? To provide an answer to this question, the Legislative Assembly of Malta, on 1 April 1930, appointed a Select Committee to enquire into allegations in regard to certain dealings in Postage Stamps.[1] During question time on Monday, 31 March 1930,[2] Alfred Gera De Petri,[3] a member of the Constitutional Party elected from the First Division, asked the Minister of Posts whether he was aware that postage stamps of the 3d. denomi- nation of the Melita issue with the word ‘POSTAGE’ overprinted inverted were on the market patronized by stamp collectors. He wanted to know whether the said overprinting was printed upside down under the responsibility of the Government or through undue influence with minor employees at the Post Office, and whether he was aware of the rumour that two sheets consisting of 360 stamps of this particular denomination were sold by a Minister of the late Administration to third parties for £2 per stamp. He also queried whether a specimen of this stamp so overprinted had passed through the Post Office, to whom it was addressed and by whom; also whether the postal official who stamped it had considered that the stamp had never been issued by the Post Office. The Minister for Posts, Robert Hamilton,[4] rather hurriedly replied in the affirmative to the basic points in the question. At the next sitting, Lord Strickland,[5] the Head of the Ministry, moved that a Select Committee be appointed for the purpose. The members were Lord Strickland, Mr Hamilton, the Minister for Industry and Commerce (Walter Salomone,) [6] Dr Paul Boffa, [7] leader of the Labour Party, and Sir Ugo Mifsud, [8]leader of the Opposition and leader of the Nationalist Party.[9] At this period, the political climate was at its hottest. The local scene was bedevilled by the increasing hostility between the Strickland Government and the Church, embroiling in the process the diplomatic relations between the British Government and the Vatican. On 23 January 1930, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council confirmed the judgement of the Court of Appeal in Malta which had declared null and void the election to the Senate of two trade union representatives.[10] This entailed the nullity of several legislative measures passed by the Senate and it led eventually to the dissolution of Parliament on 17 April 1930 and the calling of elections.[11] When Gera de Petri tabled the question at the sitting of the 31st March, it was known that Parliament would soon be dissolved and that the country was going to face a general election. The question, therefore, was couched in a manner that would involve the whole Nationalist Party and a campaign was immediately launched by the Constitutional Party of Lord Strickland on the so-called ‘Postage Stamps Scandal’, supported by posters affixed all over the Island.[12] It was a golden opportunity to use it as a weapon to lambast the previous Nationalist Ministry, the more so that the Minister in charge of posts when the Melita ‘Postage’ set was issued happened to be none other than Dr Enrico Mizzi, who, because of his pro-Italian proclivities, was the perennial target of the imperialist propaganda machine.[13] The reply of Mr Hamilton, the Minister in charge of posts, added fuel to the fire. He said 'It has lately come to the knowledge of the Postmaster General that a gentleman, once a Minister of the late Administration, had been in possession of two sheets of the -/3d value of Postage Stamps with the overprint “Postage” inverted. Some of these stamps were sold by the gentleman himself at £2 each… and Postage Stamps of the same description were now being offered for sale by a stamp dealer abroad at £4 each.' Dr Enrico Mizzi immediately requested the name of the Minister alluded to by Mr Hamilton, but the latter at first refused to divulge the name. When pressed to clear the names of the members now on the opposition benches, he complied and said: ‘I can exclude every hon. member opposite. It appears that this refers to the late Count Caruana Gatto.’[14] It transpired during the proceedings of the Select Committee that Count Alfredo Caruana Gatto[15] was Minister for Justice only from 28 October 1921 to May 1922 under the Premiership of Joseph Howard.[16] He belonged to the Unione Politica Maltese which was led by Monsignor Ignazio Panzavecchia.[17] He was a member of the Senate, representing the Nobility, until his death on 15 October 1926. The Select Committee started its proceedings on 3 April 1930. John Bonett,[18] the Postmaster General, was the first witness to be heard on oath. He stated that he had the information about the sheets from Major William Gatt,[19] the Colonial A.D.C., who had told him that a certain Pio Grech had purchased the stamps from the late Count Caruana Gatto. When asked to explain why the Parliamentary reply had referred to ‘a gentleman, once a Minister of the late administration’, he replied: ‘I cannot. He was not a Minister at the time’. 11 Mr Bonett’s evidence provoked a letter to the Press by Major Gatt who wrote that all he had told him was ‘that the owner of the two sheets had been mentioning the name of Count Caruana Gatto’.[20] When Pio Grech was examined he said that on some occasions he speculated in stamps and that he had some postage stamps with inverted overprint in partnership with Inspector (Carol) Saliba.[21] On the day of issue of the new set and even on the following days, there was a rush of speculators at the Post Office where great confusion reigned. Grech added that Saliba went to buy stamps, but complained he could not get all he wanted. Then they saw Count Caruana Gatto in the hall of the Post Office, on his way out carrying a roll of papers. They approached him and he produced two sheets saying ‘Do you deal in this kind of stamps?’ Saliba saw that the word ‘POSTAGE’ was inverted and he bought them for £80 plus some ‘Self-Government’ stamps. Later, the witness said that Saliba had shown him the stamps afterwards. According to Saliba’s evidence, the asking price was at first £100, and he had previously seen Count Caruana Gatto upstairs at the Post Office, in the company of Mr Despott, in the room adjacent to the office of the Postmaster (Mr Alex Tortell),[22] where Mr Bonett (the Chief Clerk), Mr Emmanuele Camilleri (Accountant)[23] and many other clerks were working. Inspector Saliba admitted that he had made no enquiries to ascertain that the two sheets he had bought were the only ones with an inverted overprint. He assumed that they were from the price quoted to him, and because he had never heard of anybody having any more or buying such sheets from the Post Office counters. Asked whether Count Caruana Gatto had bought the sheets from the counter, he said be could not say because he had seen him only on the top floor and not downstairs. Quite a prominent stamp collector was Count Sant Fournier.[24] In his statement, he referred to the Select Committee what Pio Grech had told him on the purchase of the sheets. Grech had said that he had bought them from Count Caruana Gatto who, in turn, had purchased them at the Post Office. Grech’s evidence before the Committee did not tally with this statement. Count Sant Fournier came to know about the existence of the inverted overprint two years after the stamps were issued, and he had no reason to doubt that they were bought at the Post Office. He explained that everyone had a right to buy, but those who went first had a better chance ‘of picking and choosing their sheets’. Buyers were not obliged to buy what the clerks gave them, but they were allowed to choose. He himself, on one occasion, had chosen £13 worth of sheets of different shades. This happened when the clerks were not very busy. The Count categorically disagreed with the suggestion that it was impossible to pass out an error and he showed the Committee stamps in his possession which he had bought at the Post Office, all of them recent issues. They included a ‘POSTAGE’ overprint with a missing ‘P’, another overprint out of line on one stamp out of 80, a ‘Self-Government’ overprint with a missing ‘S’, and a stamp without any perforation at the top. Even other Colonies like Bechuanaland, British East Africa, Grenada and North Borneo, had inverted overprints. One of the key witnesses was the Colonial A.D.C., Major Gatt. He related that, about a year before, Pio Grech has asked him if he could examine some stamps with ‘POSTAGE’ inverted. He enquired on how the stamps had originated and Grech told him he had bought them at the Post Office from Count Caruana Gatto while coming down the stairs or near the stairs. It is worth noting that Grech was rather careless in his replies to Major Gatt and Count Sant Fournier as to where the stamps had been bought from Count Caruana Gatto, while in his evidence he stated quite definitely that it was in the hall of the Post Office, when the vendor was going out into the street.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • It-T a Bib Pawlu Boffa K.B., O.B.E
    Soc. Fil. Nicolo /souard- Mosta 2000 Profil ta' Personagg magfiruf: It-T abib Pawlu Boffa K.B., o.B.E. (1890- 1962) minn F. DEGUARA awlu Boffa twieled il-Birgu fit-30 ta' Gunju 1890. Missieru kien mghallem tal-haddieda fit-Tarzna. Pawlu P mar 1-iskola Primarja, attenda 1-LiCeo u 1-Universita mnejn lahag tabib fl-1913. Matull-ewwel gwerra dinjija tal-1914-1918, huwa hadem bhala tabib mar-Royal Medical Corps f'Malta, Salonika fil-Grecja u fug il­ vapuri sptarijiet Inglizi. Wara 1-gwerra, kien serva bhala tabib privat f'Rahal Gdid. Il-Prokuratur Legali Guze Borg Fil-laggha tal-gradwati fl -1932, Pantalleresco, li kien 1-ahhar Boffa ried jitkellem bil-Malti u gie Segretarju tax-Xirka tal-lmdawlin mwaggaf mill-President, izda Boffa ta' Manwel Dimech fl-1914, kien kompla jhaggagha li ghandu 1-jedd irrakkonta li missier Boffa, li kien jitkellem bil-Malti meta f'dagga dimekkjan, kien galilhom li meta wahda deputat Nazzjonalista, ibnu jsir tabib jaghmluh it-tabib tax- gradwat ukoll, garalu siggu. Boffa xirka. Imma meta fil -fatt lahag warrabblu biex jiskansah u dabbar tabib, Dr. Boffa la ried jaf b 'Dimech id-dagga go rasu x-xwejjah 1-A vukat u angas bix-Xirka! Guze Fenech, Stricklandjan, li min It-Tabib Pawlu Boffa resag lejn jaf kemm tkellem tajjeb bil-Malti! il-Partit tal-Haddiema fl-1923 u Dr.Boffaspikkasewwafizmien hareg ghall-elezzjoni tal-1924 u gie il-kwistjoni politiko-religjuza, tant li elett taht 1-Amery-Milner kemm tal-Partit Nazzjonalista kif Constitution. Tela' wkoll fl-1927 ukoll 1-Klerikali kienu jghajruh u fforma parti mill-koalizzjoni bejn mhux ftit li huwa socjalist u il-Partit Laburista u 1-Partit ta' Lord kommunist u sahansitra galu li kien Strickland, maghrufa bhala gal li fetah hafna nies (ghax kien Compact.
    [Show full text]
  • Archbishop Michael Gonzi, Dom Mintoff, and the End of Empire in Malta
    1 PRIESTS AND POLITICIANS: ARCHBISHOP MICHAEL GONZI, DOM MINTOFF, AND THE END OF EMPIRE IN MALTA SIMON C. SMITH University of Hull The political contest in Malta at the end of empire involved not merely the British colonial authorities and emerging nationalists, but also the powerful Catholic Church. Under Archbishop Gonzi’s leadership, the Church took an overtly political stance over the leading issues of the day including integration with the United Kingdom, the declaration of an emergency in 1958, and Malta’s progress towards independence. Invariably, Gonzi and the Church found themselves at loggerheads with the Dom Mintoff and his Malta Labour Party. Despite his uncompromising image, Gonzi in fact demonstrated a flexible turn of mind, not least on the central issue of Maltese independence. Rather than seeking to stand in the way of Malta’s move towards constitutional separation from Britain, the Archbishop set about co-operating with the Nationalist Party of Giorgio Borg Olivier in the interests of securing the position of the Church within an independent Malta. For their part, the British came to accept by the early 1960s the desirability of Maltese self-determination and did not try to use the Church to impede progress towards independence. In the short-term, Gonzi succeeded in protecting the Church during the period of decolonization, but in the longer-term the papacy’s softening of its line on socialism, coupled with the return to power of Mintoff in 1971, saw a sharp decline in the fortunes of the Church and Archbishop Gonzi. Although less overt than the Orthodox Church in Cyprus, the power and influence of the Catholic Church in Malta was an inescapable factor in Maltese life at the end of empire.
    [Show full text]
  • Malta and Ten Years of Eu Membership: How Tenacious Was the Island?
    MALTA AND TEN YEARS OF EU MEMBERSHIP: HOW TENACIOUS WAS THE ISLAND? Roderick Pace Malta and Ten Years of EU Membership: How tenacious was the Island? (L-Università ta’ Malta) Roderick Pace SUMMARY: I. INTRODUCTION: EU MEMBERSHIP AND MALTA ’S TRANSFORMA - TION.— 2. MALTA : A PHYSICAL AND POLITICAL CHARACTERIZATION.— 3. MALTA ’S POLARIZED POLITICAL SCENE AND THE DEBATE ON EU MEMBERSHIP.— 4. THE IMPACT OF EU MEMBERSHIP ON MALTA : 4.1. Changes in the Political Landscape. 4.2. Party Shifts on Neutrality . 4.3. Uploading the Immigration Burden. 4.4. Economic Effects of Membership.— 5. CONCLUDING REMARKS . RESUMEN: Dado que es difícil llevar a cabo un análisis amplio que abarque todos los aspectos de lo que diez años de integración en la Unión Europea han significado para Malta, este artículo se centra en una selección de los impactos más notable de la adhesión, precedidos por una descripción de Malta, una caracterización de su sistema político, y un análisis de la escena política, tradicionalmente polarizada, en la que se expondrán las posiciones de sus dos más importantes partidos en relación con la inte- gración del país en la UE y la OTAN. Los temas tratados incluyen los cambios en el panorama político de Malta como consecuencia de la cambiante posición de los par- tidos de Malta sobre la integración de la UE; los cambios de postura sobre la cuestión de la neutralidad; la forma en que Malta ha venido afrontando la carga de la inmigra- ción, y algunas consideraciones sobre los efectos económicos de la adhesión a la UE. PALABRAS CLAVE: Malta, Unión Europea, Ampliación de la UE, neutralidad, pola- rización.
    [Show full text]
  • Maltese Immigrants in Detroit and Toronto, 1919-1960
    Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports 2018 Britishers in Two Worlds: Maltese Immigrants in Detroit and Toronto, 1919-1960 Marc Anthony Sanko Follow this and additional works at: https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd Recommended Citation Sanko, Marc Anthony, "Britishers in Two Worlds: Maltese Immigrants in Detroit and Toronto, 1919-1960" (2018). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 6565. https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/6565 This Dissertation is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by the The Research Repository @ WVU with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Dissertation in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you must obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/ or on the work itself. This Dissertation has been accepted for inclusion in WVU Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports collection by an authorized administrator of The Research Repository @ WVU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Britishers in Two Worlds: Maltese Immigrants in Detroit and Toronto, 1919-1960 Marc Anthony Sanko Dissertation submitted to the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences at West Virginia University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History Kenneth Fones-Wolf, Ph.D., Chair James Siekmeier, Ph.D. Joseph Hodge, Ph.D. Melissa Bingmann, Ph.D. Mary Durfee, Ph.D. Department of History Morgantown, West Virginia 2018 Keywords: Immigration History, U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • Maltese Colonial Identity: Latin Mediterranean Or British Empire?
    The British Colonial Experience 1800-1964 The Impact on Maltese Society Edited by Victor Mallia-Milanes 2?79G ~reva Publications Published under the auspices of The Free University: Institute of Cultural Anthropology! Sociology of Development Amsterdam 10 HENRY FRENDO Maltese Colonial Identity: Latin Mediterranean or British Empire? Influenced by history as much as by geography, identity changes, or develops, both as a cultural phenomenon and in relation to economic factors. Behaviouristic traits, of which one may not be conscious, assume a different reality in cross-cultural interaction and with the passing of time. The Maltese identity became, and is, more pronounced than that of other Mediterranean islanders from the Balearic to the Aegean. These latter spoke varieties of Spanish and Greek in much the same way as the inhabitants of the smaller islands of Pantalleria, Lampedusa, or Elba spoke Italian dialects and were absorbed by the neighbouring larger mainlands. The inhabitants of modern Malta, however, spoke a language derived from Arabic at the same time as they practised the Roman Catholic faith and were exposed, indeed subjected, to European iDfluences for six or seven centuries, without becoming integrated with their closest terra firma, Italy.l This was largely because of Malta's strategic location between southern Europe and North Mrica. An identifiable Maltese nationality was thus moulded by history, geography, and ethnic admixture - the Arabic of the Moors, corsairs, and slaves, together with accretions from several northern and southern European races - from Normans to Aragonese. Malta then passed under the Knights of St John, the French, and much more importantly, the British.
    [Show full text]
  • IT-TLETTAX-IL LEĠIŻLATURA P.L. 4462 Raymond Scicluna Skrivan Tal-Kamra
    IT-TLETTAX-IL LEĠIŻLATURA P.L. 4462 Dokument imqiegħed fuq il-Mejda tal-Kamra tad-Deputati fis-Seduta Numru 299 tas-17 ta’ Frar 2020 mill-Ministru fl-Uffiċċju tal-Prim Ministru, f’isem il-Ministru għall-Wirt Nazzjonali, l-Arti u Gvern Lokali. ___________________________ Raymond Scicluna Skrivan tal-Kamra BERĠA TA' KASTILJA - INVENTARJU TAL-OPRI TAL-ARTI 12717. L-ONOR. JASON AZZOPARDI staqsa lill-Ministru għall-Wirt Nazzjonali, l-Arti u l-Gvern Lokali: Jista' l-Ministru jwieġeb il-mistoqsija parlamentari 8597 u jgħid jekk hemmx u jekk hemm, jista’ jqiegħed fuq il-Mejda tal-Kamra l-Inventarju tal-Opri tal-Arti li hemm fil- Berġa ta’ Kastilja? Jista’ jgħid liema minnhom huma proprjetà tal-privat (fejn hu l-każ) u liema le? 29/01/2020 ONOR. JOSÈ HERRERA: Ninforma lill-Onor. Interpellant li l-ebda Opra tal-Arti li tagħmel parti mill-Kollezjoni Nazzjonali ġewwa l-Berġa ta’ Kastilja m’hi proprjetà tal-privat. għaldaqstant qed inpoġġi fuq il-Mejda tal-Kamra l-Inventarju tal-Opri tal-Arti kif mitlub mill- Onor. Interpellant. Seduta 299 17/02/2020 PQ 12717 -Tabella Berga ta' Kastilja - lnventarju tai-Opri tai-Arti INVENTORY LIST AT PM'S SEC Title Medium Painting- Madonna & Child with young StJohn The Baptist Painting- Portraits of Jean Du Hamel Painting- Rene Jacob De Tigne Textiles- banners with various coats-of-arms of Grandmasters Sculpture- Smiling Girl (Sciortino) Sculpture- Fondeur Figure of a lady (bronze statue) Painting- Dr. Lawrence Gonzi PM Painting- Francesco Buhagiar (Prime Minister 1923-1924) Painting- Sir Paul Boffa (Prime Minister 1947-1950) Painting- Joseph Howard (Prime Minister 1921-1923) Painting- Sir Ugo Mifsud (Prime Minister 1924-1927, 1932-1933) Painting- Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici (Prime Minister 1984-1987) Painting- Dom Mintoff (Prime Minister 1965-1958, 1971-1984) Painting- Lord Gerald Strickland (Prime Minister 1927-1932) Painting- Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • The Change from a Monarchy to a Republic
    Dr CENSU TABONE, M.D., D.O. (Oxen.), D.O.M.S. (Land.) D.M.J. (S.A. Land), F.R.C.S. (Edin.) About Dr Tabone: Dr Tabone was born in Gozo in 1913. He was educated at the Gozo Elementary School, St. Aloysius College, the University of Malta, Oxford University, and The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. He graduated M. D. (Malta) 1937, Post-graduate education and training at Oxford University, and the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. During the war he served as Army Medical Officer. He was Medical Consultant with the World Health Organisation on a short-term basis between 1952 to 1960 and served in Geneva and in several Countries in the Far and Middle East. He was member of the WHO Expert Committee on Trachoma in 1955. He entered Parliament in 1966 and was elected in all subsequent elections up to 1989, and served as Minister of Labour Employment and Welfare between 1966 and 1971, and Minister of Foreign Affairs between 19)5~ and 1989. In 1989 he was appointed President of Malta by parliament, and his term as Presiderlt ended on the 4th April 1994. The following is the text of a talk he gave at a meeting held in Gozo as part of the Lowenbrail series on important personages in Gozo. THE CHANGE FROM A MONARCHY TO A REPUBLIC In my talk I shall deal briefly with politics in The 1962 elections had the main political theme post war Malta, particularly after of Independence and were won by the Independence.
    [Show full text]
  • Dependence and Independence: Malta and the End of Empire1
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by OAR@UM Journal of Maltese History, 2008/1 33 Dependence and independence: Malta and the end of empire 1 Simon C. Smith Professor, Department of History, University of Hull. Abstract The end of empire was rarely a neat or seamless process. Elements of empire often persisted despite the severance of formal constitutional ties. This was particularly so in the case of Malta which maintained strong financial and military links with Britain long after formal independence in 1964. Attempts to effect the decolonisation of Malta through integration with Britain in the 1950s gave way to more conventional constitution-making by the early 1960s. British attempts to retain imperial interests beyond the end of formal empire were answered by Maltese determination to secure financial and other benefits as a quid pro quo for tolerating close ties with the former imperial power. By the early 1970s, however, Britain wearied of the demands placed upon it by the importunate Maltese, preferring instead to try and pass responsibility for supporting Malta onto its NATO allies. Reflecting a widely held view in British governing circles, Sir Herbert Brittain of the Treasury remarked in mid-1955 that Malta could ‘never be given Commonwealth status, because of defence considerations’.2 Indeed, Malta’s perceived strategic importance, underlined during the Second World War, coupled with its economic dependence on Britain, apparently made independence a distant prospect. Despite the significant constitutional advances in the early 1960s, strong ties between Britain and Malta, especially in the military and financial spheres, endured beyond formal Maltese independence in 1964.
    [Show full text]
  • The Offices of the President and the Prime Minister of Malta: a Way Forward, and the Work Presented in It, Is My Own
    The Offices of the President and the Prime Minister of Malta: A Way Forward Luke Dalli A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Laws, University of Malta, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) Faculty of Laws University of Malta May 2013 University of Malta Library – Electronic Theses & Dissertations (ETD) Repository The copyright of this thesis/dissertation belongs to the author. The author’s rights in respect of this work are as defined by the Copyright Act (Chapter 415) of the Laws of Malta or as modified by any successive legislation. Users may access this full-text thesis/dissertation and can make use of the information contained in accordance with the Copyright Act provided that the author must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the prior permission of the copyright holder. DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP I, Luke Dalli, declare that this thesis entitled The Offices of the President and the Prime Minister of Malta: A Way Forward, and the work presented in it, is my own. I confirm that: The Word Count of the thesis is 35,000. This work was done in partial fulfilment for the degree of Doctor of Laws at the Faculty of Laws of the University of Malta. Where any part of this thesis has previously been submitted for a degree or any other qualifications at this University or any other institution, this has been clearly stated. Where I have consulted the published work of others, this is always clearly attributed. Where I have quoted from the work of others, the source is always given.
    [Show full text]
  • Political Party Splits in Maltese His:Ory: How the PN and MLP Went Through Schism5in the Past Seats
    6 Tiie lllllta Independent on 5unday I 26 July 2020 'l1le lllllta Independent on SUdaJ I 2~ July 2020 7 News News Political party splits in Maltese his:ory: how the PN and MLP went through schism5in the past seats. Most of the CWP's members - including Pellegrini himself- re­ turned to the MLP. ·®ALBERTGAJ.EA Going Green: Wenzu Mintoff and Toni Abela split from As the rift within the PN contin­ Labour to form AD ues to edge towards the point of A more recent political split oc­ no-return, the possibility of the curred in 1989, resulting in the creation of a new political party creation of a political party from those rebelling against the which continues to exist today. PN's current leadership is enter­ In 1989, Labour Party Presi­ ing the public discourse more dent Toni Abela and Labour and more. Party whip Wenzu Mintoff re­ Such a split would see the new signed from the party after tak­ party have 17 MPs and two ing a stand .against corruption MEPs, over the PN's 11 MPs and and politieal violence. no MEPs, becoming the biggest The duo founded a new, green party in the Opposition. However, political party splits are not unprecedented in Mal­ tese history. The Malta Independent on Sun­ day looks back on Malta's politi­ cal history at four splits within political parties and their even- tual outcomes. · Dom Mintoff ousts the Prime Minister and Labour leader in 1947 Under the auspices of the brand-new MacMichael Consti­ tution in 1947, Paul Boffa be­ came the ·first Maltese Prime Minister to have hailed from the Malta Labour Party.
    [Show full text]
  • Original Paper the Political Relevance of Dun Karm, The
    World Journal of Social Science Research ISSN 2375-9747 (Print) ISSN 2332-5534 (Online) Vol. 6, No. 2, 2019 www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/wjssr Original Paper The Political Relevance of Dun Karm, the National Poet of Malta: A Stand beyond Partisanship Oliver Friggieri1* 1 University of Malta, Malta * Oliver Friggieri, University of Malta, Malta Received: March 23, 2019 Accepted: April 14, 2019 Online Published: April 28, 2019 doi:10.22158/wjssr.v6n2p190 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.22158/wjssr.v6n2p190 Abstract The role played by Dun Karm, Malta’s national poet, in the gradual reconstruction of Malta’s claim of being a nation, far trascends the strict confines of poetry in particular, and of literature in general. His ability in fusing into one unique whole the Semitic and the Latin components of Maltese identity transcended politics and managed to establish in a relatively short span of time a sound vision of the island as worthy of achieving independence, and eventually of being recognised by all nations as a republic. This account seeks to identify the influence on political parties exerted by Dun Karm through his works and of proposing a vision of Malta which naturally integrated the Semitic and the Latin segments. Keywords maltese, arabic, italian, identity, poetry, politics 1. A Land in Search of Recognition It was Malta’s fascinating and colourful history that made Malta a much sought after resort for whoever seeks a glimpse of a place where past and present habitually go hand in hand. A small national community, which also includes a diaspora of Maltese living in several countries across the world numbering thousands, is now recognised for its uniqueness achieved largely through sheer dint of hard work by the literary class, Much of it dates back from the late nineteenth century and then going well into the Sixties of the twentieth century when the island achieved its Independence from Britain in 1964.
    [Show full text]
  • The Government of Malta Provides a Comprehensive Health Service to All Maltese Residents, Which Is Entirely Free at Point of Delivery
    A home physiotherapy service for stroke patients in Malta: constraints and recommendations. The process of setting up a home physiotherapy service for hospitalised stroke patients within the public health system in Malta - new knowledge contributing to a strategy document. Item Type Thesis Authors Lungaro-Mifsud, Stephen Rights <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by-nc-nd/3.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by- nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png" /></a><br />The University of Bradford theses are licenced under a <a rel="license" href="http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Licence</a>. Download date 25/09/2021 19:47:07 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10454/4327 Chapter 2: A MIXED HEALTH CARE SYSTEM IN MALTA 2.1 Introduction The government of Malta provides a comprehensive health service to all Maltese residents, which is entirely free at point of delivery. All residents have access to preventative, investigative, curative and rehabilitative services in state health centres and hospitals. The Public Health Service is funded from general taxation. In fact, there is no national health insurance, as health services are financed from a common pool of taxes, with the yearly percentage of GDP, 9.63 % in 2003, spent on health (The Ministry of Health, the Elderly and Community Care 2005); this is based on predetermined and fixed annual budgets. Private health services exist alongside the Public Health Service. However, community health services are anecdotally perceived to be scarce and fragmented, and are given little priority, particularly in the rehabilitation sector.
    [Show full text]